Are Haribo Gummy Bears Vegan?
Haribo is one of the largest and most popular candy manufacturers in the world that currently produce a range of treats including gummy bears. But with so many different ingredients going into these various candies, how do you know which are vegan and which you should avoid?
To help you understand what you’re putting into your body, we’re taking a closer look at Haribo gummy bears to answer the burning question are Haribo gummy bears vegan?
Are Haribo Gummy Bears Vegetarian?
Before we take a look at if Haribo gummy bears are vegan, let’s first turn our attention to if they are vegetarian. Often than not if they are not vegetarian then they won’t be vegan either.
From looking at the back of a Haribo gummy bears packet, you can clearly see all of the ingredients that are included within the candy. As a vegan, we recommend that you always check the packaging to ensure there are no hidden animal byproducts that may not be stated in the name of the product.
Common animal products to look out for in candies are ingredients such as:
- Gelatin
- Shellac
- Carmine
- Bone char
All of these ingredients are derived from animals in one way or another and often involve burning, boiling and squishing animals. Most of these ingredients are used to add flavor to candy, change the color or create a thickening agent to hold the candy together. If you see any of these listed on the packaging then, unfortunately, the candy is not vegetarian or vegan.
Taking a closer look at the ingredients in Harbio’s gummy bears there is one clear ingredient that stands out: gelatin. For those of you that don’t know, gelatin is an animal byproduct from pigs and cows, which is used as a thickening agent to stop those gummy bears from falling apart.
Considering gelatin is an animal byproduct, that makes Haribo’s gummy bears not vegan or vegetarian. But that’s not all, there is also another ingredient which raises some slave labor concerns.
Carnauba wax is an ingredient that is harvested by underpaid and exploited plant workers in Brazil, with many of them being underage and underpaid. Although this ingredient might not be derived from any animals, the fact that children are being used to harvest this ingredient is against many vegans’ ethics. Combine this with the gelatin mentioned above, and it is clear to see why Haribo’s gummy bears are not vegan.
In addition to not being vegan, the gummy bears also contain a range of GMO and other nasty ingredients such as corn syrup, mountain loads of sugar, and various artificial colors and flavors. To make things worse, some candy produced by Haribo also contains traces of egg and milk which is not good if you’re allergic to either of them.
This is because the manufacturer Haribo uses factories that also manufactures other products and items that do contain milk and eggs. This means there is a small chance there could be some kind of contamination during the manufacturing process. The result is that there can be traces of egg and milk within the Haribos themselves.
Vegan Gummy Bear Alternatives
There are literally hundreds of different types of gummy bears on the market, with brands ranging from Haribo to Surf Sweets. With so many different manufacturers out there producing so many different products, how do you know which gummy bears are vegan and which are not?
To help you ensure that everything you buy is vegan, we’ve scoured the market to find the best vegan gummy bears and other vegan candy. So save yourself some time by checking out our top vegan gummy bears recommendations and sit back knowing no animals were harmed in the making of your delicious candy.
You never know, you might also find your new favorite candy!